Stray Observations: Lian Bichsel and the Stars Lose 4-0 in a Stupid Streetfight to the Wild

A game happened. On TV!

Honestly, I had no idea this game was even televised. So few of them have been, I didn’t think it’d be crazy to assume that this one wasn’t. It was a doozy for all the wrong reasons. And not just because Dallas lost 4-0 to the Wild.

I know some people like to talk about these two teams like they’re rivals. I don’t see it, personally. Maybe I’m just too old, and I remember when a rivalry looked like Detroit vs. Colorado, Barrera vs. Morales, or Eddie Murphy vs. Nick Nolte in 48 Hrs. Dallas vs. Minnesota is a rivalry the same way your little brother is a rival when you start wrestling, and outweigh by 80 lbs. Wild fans won’t appreciate that analogy, but those are just the facts. And I say that as someone who routinely defends Minnesota: a team that for years did not get the respect they deserved. They still do, but they’re also irrelevant as a real contender.

I wish we could move on from this tired-ass, bad blood narrative. If I sound agitated, it’s because this stupid narrative has had real-world consequences, with Pat Maroon falling on top of Scott Wedgewood, the Matt Dumba hit on Joe Pavelski, and now tonight - which we’ll get to.

All I’m saying is that this cheesy style of marketing needs to die. If you’re here you already know me, and you know there’s a special place in my heart for two consenting adults putting on a pair of gloves and putting each other in a hurt locker. Hockey violence is not that. It’s just one dude suckering another dude. Like one of those YouTube “pranks” where the punchline is that an innocent bystander gets assaulted. This is the preseason and already we’re talking about headshots.

You might think I’m overreacting. Just wait…

Sidebar: I forgot to turn off the audio on some of these clips. Thankfully the mic wasn’t hot. The only thing you hear is the keyboard clacking away, and a few seconds of Gojira.

This Intermission Brought to You by Lian Bichsel

It wasn’t a perfect game for the big Swiss defender. He had some trouble on the penalty kill, but I want to talk about something I’ve been hyping about his game ever since Traverse City. His shockingly nuanced play in the defensive zone.

This is a pretty sweet little play. In fact, I don’t think it’s nuanced at all. Bichsel fakes like he’s going back to his partner, Jordie Benn (who was awful, by the way). He even slows down to sell the feint, and then boom. Deception = space. Suddenly he’s out in the open. Stuff like this is what separates the stay-at-home defenders from the three-zone shutdown defenders. Doesn’t mean I think Bichsel is Chris Tanev in Swiss clothing. Just that I love seeing these reads from him.

Here’s another example of Bichsel reading the play, and making one…

…to deleterious effect, granted.

Honestly I blame Mavrik Bourque and Matej Blumel on this one. But I know that’s just the Bichsel Bias talking. I’m gonna keep saying it until I’m blue in the face: it’s better to make a bad read than no read it all. To me it takes confidence, vision, and creativity to pull that pass off. Sure it doesn’t work, but it’s a pretty consistent feature of his game.

The fact that he’s making reads, and trying to be creative doesn’t mean he’s always an adventure. It can lead to very conservative plays to still push the play up ice, like this one.

Here he just holds the puck for a few extra seconds, giving Heiskanen room to separate and become an option. It’s nothing fancy but it’s another read, and another step forward for a player who’s clearly using his head out there instead of just his talent. All in all, it was good night for him.

Thomas Harley is still good

Another dude that stood out was Harley.

His skating continues to be sublime. The only reason Harley ends up having a goal go off his stick is because Steel makes an errant pass there. Otherwise he looked excellent all night: confident with the puck, quick, yet still responsible. We are not crazy to be riding this hype train.

Back to the pits

Here’s how the animosity began. With Bichsel taking down Marcus Foligno.

The reason this game got me in a vendetta kind of mood is that Foligno immediate starts whacking at people’s wrists; first Heiskanen, and then Bichsel, who he also takes a run at.

Eventually it culminated in this: Jamie Benn vs. Pat Maroon.

As much as I hate to say it, Benn’s days as a fighter are done. He struggles to get loose nowadays, seems to always take the first punch, and just doesn’t seem as engaged. Remember when THIS (or this) is what he looked like during a fight? Just saying: I wouldn’t mind seeing Benn hang his hockeyfight gloves up. He’s no Barrera or Morales at this point.

Also, since when did Brandon Duhaime turn into such a d-bag?

Thankfully, Mason Marchment fulfilled his death wish.

(Or would have if that right hand had landed)

• Nils Lundkvist seemed decent. It was hard to tell with the game being so erratic, and special teams-oriented. Yea he was on the power play, but they never seemed to get set up. My tentative opinion is that he looks mildly better; seemed calm with his passes in the defensive zone (a problem last year), and while his speed is still lackluster, that muscle seems like it’s paying dividends.

• With the game on high alert on special teams, I didn’t get a chance to notice Logan Stankoven, but I see this a lot: he’s really good on his backhand, and excels in the defensive zone breaking out with it too. Bold prediction: when Stankoven does get his coffee, he sticks with the team.

• Craig Smith looked surprisingly solid. Granted, he’s always been that, but he was much more fluid than I remember.

• Something about Heiskanen I felt like I noticed was that he was a little looser. I don’t mean in a bad way, I just mean loose: there was an airy quality to how he handled the puck, which in no way took from his defensive prowess, which actually looked better than ever.

• Sam Steel and Ty Dellandrea play like mirror images of one another: difference being that Steel makes bad passes instead of taking bad penalties. I liked them quite a bit. I’m just glad Steel will be nowhere near the power play because he has the talent to be a playmaker, but not the instincts.